


Things Tend to Escalate - Vol. 2

by hippoprima



Series: Seph is a Weirdo [2]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Gen, Humor, I hope it's still humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2015-02-21
Packaged: 2018-03-14 11:16:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3408575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hippoprima/pseuds/hippoprima
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zack would not have introduced those two if he realized the extent of Sephiroth's... quirks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things Tend to Escalate - Vol. 2

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta'd. 
> 
> Apologies if quality and comprehensiveness went down. I fought for a while with this but had to send up a white flag and kick it out of my WIP because I just can't handle it any more.

Ever since their first rocky meeting that _he_ thought went rather well, Sephiroth started to approach the boy whenever he saw him rather than stare intensely at his fluffy blond head. As with starting any new endeavor, there were logistics to work out but overall it was going rather splendidly for him. Though for some reason Zack didn't like it and told him Cloud didn't either. And in many more words too.

"Seph I know you like Cloud in your really creepy way but _please_ stop ambushing him to pet his hair. Or rub your face in it. It's really weird and Cloudy is having a hard time with it and rumours are starting to circulate and your reputation is going to slip and Shinra is not going to be happy and..."

This was certainly not the development he expected; Zack himself was the one to introduce them so he should be happy that they were interacting so often and so well. Their newly-arranged chance meetings have been wholly devoid of tense silences which denote awkwardness, a social blunder. They have also been significantly lacking in injuries, torture, Turks, science, or death, which would lead to a happy longevity in relations. Or is it that despite saying they were bad, those were the key elements to a lasting friendship since his past with Zack had included all of the above?

And he was deriving such enjoyment from the meetings that though timeliness has suffered minutely, his productivity had noticeably increased. Sephiroth had no doubt that this was the much lauded stress relief everyone said behind his back that he needed. Evidently, he has made an erroneous assumption somewhere but he had worked hard to get to where he was and therefore, no intention of letting all his efforts go to waste.

"...then what do you propose that I do should I find a desire to touch his hair?"

"Not do it? I mean, it's _weird_. People don't just pet each other's hair! And it's certainly NOT something you should do in a busy hallway. You're embarrassing him and I'm pretty sure he's getting bullied more because of it."

Shockingly, Zack stopped there and looked expectantly at him. This was not good. Thankfully after years of trial and error Sephiroth knew that the best reply when he didn't know what to say was to deflect attention back to the other person.

"...how is this different from what you do to him?"

"Seph! I do NOT ambush him to molest or smell his hair no matter what it looks like and... Okay. I get it. It... can seem similar and... Damn! Okay." Zack paused here again worryingly, gnawing his bottom lip. But he didn't look like to be wanting a response this time so Sephiroth waited patiently for Zack to finish humming noises. Or thinking. Zack could actually be thinking.

"You know," Sephiroth tried when Zack kept on thinking, not wanting his friend to suffer any brain damage. "I could speak with him to make an arrangement that works for the both of us."

"Um... Yeah. That could work..." Zack seemed to be very reluctant to support this motion but Sephiroth wasn't about to say anything more lest he jeopardizes this unexpected permission to accost his favourite pastime in private. "Just, y'know, be considerate of his situation. He's just a trooper, and he's small, and a bit of a loner, and he's really shy, and he looks up to you, or used to anyway, and it's his _hair_ , and you're _smelling_ it, and..."

Sephiroth quickly nodded his assent and before Zack could say more or change his mind, swept off to his office to look up Cloud's PHS number.

 

He knew that most people found unsolicited demands to meet in private from people they've never given their number to unsettling, so Sephiroth had wondered if Cloud's reaction would be to turn red or something else equally entertaining. This was why he had also looked up where the trooper would be at this time so he may observe his reaction from around the corner as he sent the message.

The distinct advantage with being the General was that no one cared to question his actions, or dared to. Whether it was leading the vanguard deep into enemy territory or stalking down the corridors of the trooper levels, Sephiroth carried with purpose and everyone else got out of his way. And that was exactly how he found himself there, striding about unimpeded, following the head of bright yellow hair at a distance.

Yes, this one's defect was very likely the tomato imitation. And it was going so smoothly until Zack found him, presumably finally on his way to warn Cloud about the message he just received. Good thing Sephiroth was so much more efficient than Zack or else Cloud might not have had such an interesting reaction. It was unfortunate, however, that he didn't foresee Zack's presence and was now enduring an even larger 'freak out' than 17 minutes ago.

And you would think that with how Zack was reacting it was a downright crime to track a person down and observe them unnoticed. The Turks certainly did it often enough and no one bats an eye. It was even expected out of them. Why would it be an issue when he did it?

People are so _strange_.

Fortunately, Cloud didn't seem too alarmed on discovering that Sephiroth was watching him from around the corner of every hallway he'd been down the past 4 minutes. Perhaps he was acclimatized to his presence through daily exposure; it was certainly a lot better than what some SOLDIERs could manage. The trooper had even managed to squeak out an "Okay" before attempting to exit the premises but Sephiroth caught an arm in a firm grip. Then loosened a bit when he remembered that a firm grip for a SOLDIER was a vice grip for the unenhanced.

"Please arrive on time," he intoned. "We are to discuss a very important matter."

"...yes sir." Cloud squeaked again, and was more like a chocobo then than any other time. Sephiroth looked at the quivering creature he was holding onto and felt a small twinge of pity.

"...it's a date." He joked, recalling another movie he's watched where the protagonist, a suave gentleman, charmed the hats off every woman he met with laughing words and a bright smile. Sephiroth couldn't smile right yet so he omitted it. He also can't quite manage a light tone to his voice without anyone becoming suspicious so he didn't try it either, and hoped that the words alone could convey the humour.

The stunned silence that received it told him it didn't.

Sephiroth sighed.


End file.
